Here's everything we learned from the All-Star Game's mic'd-up players
Every time a player gets mic'd up in a baseball game, it seems to generate a memorable moment. In Spring Training, a mic'd up Mookie Betts gave us the now-iconic "I ain't getting this one, boys." On Mother's Day, we were treated to Steven Souza's postmodern musings on the fickleness of baseball.
With players mic'd up throughout Tuesday's All-Star Game, we were sure to be treated to some fun moments and, perhaps, some new insights into the best players in the game. Indeed, we were not disappointed in those expectations. Here is what we learned from each mic'd up player.
Playing the outfield can get lonely. You're standing out there by yourself, too far away to even hold a shouting conversation with your teammates. Or, as Blackmon put it, "you don't have any friends." So how does one combat that loneliness? The Rockies outfielder recommends a combination of grass kicking, watching a giant-screen TV (fortunately, ballparks are not lacking there) and checking your hole for gloves or your glove for holes ... the specifics aren't important.
One would think it's easy to play the outfield with
Also, playing in close proximity to Hollywood doesn't make you a good actor:
Fresh off his victory in the Home Run Derby alongside his dad, Harper was quick to self-deprecate when called to reflect on when he won a derby when he was 11 and, as Harper pointed out, a bit huskier.
But, Harper really lit up when Trout hit a home run and the conversation turned to him. When the booth asked him whether he recognized Trout as the best player in baseball, his response was that anyone who doesn't must not be watching baseball. It wasn't quite "clown question, bro." But it was close.
Lindor has a clearly defined vision of what he wants his All-Star experience to be. He has long dreamed of hitting a home run in the Midsummer Classic -- he'll have to wait at least another year on that -- and wants to mingle with stars from other teams. The latter requires the Indians' shortstop to ditch his teammates when he arrives at the All-Star Game and he had no qualms admitting that's precisely what he did:
Jose Ramirez, at least, was probably happy Lindor had someone else to talk to while on the field. The shortstop says he talks to Ramirez so much on the field that he sometimes gets the cold shoulder.
Mike Trout really wanted to congratulate
Trout's interests are simple -- the weather and the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles -- but he's passionate about them. But, those weren't the things he was most interested in at the All-Star Game. His primary goal in D.C. was to congratulate Nick Markakis on making his first All-Star team. The home run he hit in the third inning was just icing on the cake.
Hopefully the success of the mic'd up All-Stars leads to baseball players getting mic'd up more often.
